The present invention relates to a needle puller and, more particularly, to an apparatus which both removes a needle from a syringe and also deforms the needle to prevent reuse thereof.
In today""s medical profession, most injections are given with disposable hypodermic syringes, which are supplied to hospitals and doctors offices in sterile packages. To ensure sterility and to prevent any accidental contamination between patients, the hypodermic syringe is discarded after a single use. It will be appreciated that due to the size of the medical establishment, a great number of syringes are used and disposed of on a daily basis.
A significant amount of energy has been devoted to the issue of safely disposing of used syringes. Although various methods/apparatuses exist for disposing of the entire used syringe, there are disadvantages associated with the disposal of the entire used syringe. In particular, the disposal of the entire used syringe does not prevent a subsequent handler of the syringe from suffering a needlestick injury, nor does it prevent the used syringe from being reclaimed for use with illegal drugs.
The prior art, which is replete with patents directed to needle destroying apparatuses, can be generally divided into two categories: 1) those devices which involve the destruction of the needle by shearing at least a portion of the needle from the used syringe, and 2) those devices involving the destruction of the needle through the electrical melting of such needle.
The prior art devices relating to shearing involve the cutting of the metal needle to remove the sharpened point (which also prevents subsequent reuse of such needle) or the cutting of the syringe (which destroys the syringe thus preventing reuse of such syringe). Although cutting of the needle prevents the subsequent reuse of such needle, this technique has several significant disadvantages, namely: 1) that the shearing blade becomes dull after repeated uses, thereby limiting the life of the device, 2) the sheared needle hub typically exhibits sharp edges which may still result in subsequent needlestick injuries, and 3) at least a portion of the destroyed syringe includes both metal and plastic thereby increasing the difficulty of subsequent disposal and/or recycling.
The second category of prior art devices involve the electrical melting of at least a portion of the metal needle. Although melting of a portion of the needle prevents subsequent reuse of the syringe, such devices still suffer from several significant disadvantages, including: 1) the requirement of a power source, which typically adds bulk and expense to the apparatus, and limits the location of such apparatus, 2) the inability to ensure complete segregation of materials, that is, separation of the metal and plastic components of the syringe, and 3) the inability to ensure that sharpened edges do not remain on the destroyed syringe.
There is therefore a need in the prior art for a device which satisfactorily destroys a hypodermic syringe without the necessity of shearing (eliminating sharp edges which can result in subsequent needlestick injury and the need for blade(s) which must be regularly sharpened/replaced), which does not require a heating source and/or electrical power, and which results in complete segregation of the different materials of the syringe to facilitate subsequent disposal and/or recycling of the used syringe.
The present invention, which addresses the needs of the prior art, provides an apparatus for removing a needle from a medical device. The apparatus includes a container defining a chamber. The container includes a container top having an aperture communicating with the chamber. The apparatus further includes a needle removing fixture mounted to the container and rotatable with respect thereto free of shearing surfaces. The needle removing fixture is positioned at least partially within the chamber and includes a passage for receiving a needle extending through the aperture in the container top. Finally, the apparatus includes means for rotating the needle removing fixture.
The present invention further provides an apparatus for removing a needle from a medical device. The apparatus includes means for maintaining the medical device in a substantially stationary position. The apparatus further includes means for retaining a needle attached to a medical device. Finally, the apparatus includes means for rotating the retaining means about a generally horizontal axis free of shearing surfaces.
The present invention is also directed to a method of removing a needle from a medical device. The method includes the step of inserting the needle of the medical device into a passage of a needle removing fixture. The method includes the further step of rotating the needle removing fixture about an axis while maintaining the medical device in a substantially stationary position thereby removing the needle from the medical device without shearing thereof.
The present invention further relates to a method of removing a metal needle from a plastic hub of a medical device. The method includes the step of securing the medical device in a substantially stationary position whereby the needle is located at a predetermined position. The method includes the further step of disconnecting the metal needle from the plastic hub without shearing of the needle while simultaneously deforming the metal needle to prevent reuse thereof.
Finally, the present invention relates to an apparatus for removing a needle from a medical device. The apparatus includes a container defining a chamber. The container includes a container top having a first aperture communicating with the chamber. The apparatus further includes a recessed sleeve extending from the container top into the chamber. The container top includes a second aperture communicating with the sleeve. The second aperture has a diameter greater than the diameter of the first aperture. The sleeve includes a third aperture communicating with the chamber. The third aperture is substantially coaxially aligned with the second aperture. The apparatus also includes a needle removing fixture mounted to the container and rotatable with respect thereto free of sheering surfaces. The needle removing fixture is positioned at least partially within the chamber and includes first and second working sections having diameters D1 and D2, respectively, wherein D1 is greater than D2. The first working section includes a first passage for receiving a needle extending through the first aperture in the container top. The second working section includes a second passage for receiving a needle extending through the third aperture and the recessed sleeve. Finally, the apparatus includes means for rotating the needle-removing fixture.
As a result, the present invention provides an apparatus (and accompanying method) for safely and permanently disposing of used hypodermic syringes. First, because the needle is removed from the barrel of the syringe, subsequent needlestick injuries during handling of the used syringe are avoided. Needlestick injuries are further avoided because the entire needle is pulled from the needle hub without leaving any sharp metal stubs which would otherwise remain if such needle was removed by shearing, rather than being pulled out of the hub. Second, the needle itself is permanently deformed during the disassembly process, thereby preventing any attempt to subsequently reuse the needle. Third, the apparatus of the present invention (by completely separating the metal needle from the plastic hub and barrel) results in complete segregation of the plastic and metal components of a hypodermic syringe, thus facilitating subsequent disposal and/or recycling of the materials. Fourth, the apparatus of the present invention exhibits a long field life in that there are no parts subject to wear, such as shearing blades used in certain prior art devices. Fifth, the apparatus of the present invention does not require any external source of power, thereby facilitating its use in the field.